High-order Lorenz systems with five, six, eight, nine, and eleven equations are derived by choosing different numbers of Fourier modes upon truncation. For the original Lorenz system and for the five high-order Lorenz systems, solutions are numerically computed, and periodicity diagrams are plotted on (σ, r) parameter planes with σ, r ∈ [0, 1000], and b = 8/3. Dramatic shifts of patterns are observed among periodicity diagrams of different systems, including the appearance of expansive areas of period 2 in the fifth-, eighth-, ninth-, and 11th-order systems and the disappearance of the onion-like structure beyond order 5. Bifurcation diagrams along with phase portraits offer a closer look at the two phenomena.

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The Lorenz system is a simplified model of Rayleigh-Bénard convection, a thermally driven fluid convection between two parallel plates. Two additional physical ingredients are considered in the governing equations, namely, rotation of the model frame and the presence of a density-affecting scalar in the fluid, in order to derive a six-dimensional nonlinear ordinary differential equation system. Since the new system is an extension of the original three-dimensional Lorenz system, the behavior of the new system is compared with that of the old system. Clear shifts of notable bifurcation points in the thermal Rayleigh parameter space are seen in association with the extension of the Lorenz system, and the range of thermal Rayleigh parameters within which chaotic, periodic, and intermittent solutions appear gets elongated under a greater influence of the newly introduced parameters. When considered separately, the effects of scalar and rotation manifest differently in the numerical solutions; while an increase in the rotational parameter sharply neutralizes chaos and instability, an increase in a scalar-related parameter leads to the rise of a new type of chaotic attractor. The new six-dimensional system is found to self-synchronize, and surprisingly, the transfer of solutions to only one of the variables is needed for self-synchronization to occur.

The stably stratified Taylor–Couette flow is investigated experimentally and numerically through linear stability analysis. In the experiments, the stability threshold and flow regimes have been mapped over the ranges of outer and inner Reynolds numbers: $-2000<Re_{o}<2000$ and $0<Re_{i}<3000$, for the radius ratio $r_{i}/r_{o}=0.9$ and the Brunt–Väisälä frequency $N\approx 3.2~\text{rad}~\text{s}^{-1}$. The corresponding Froude numbers $F_{o}$ and $F_{i}$ are always much smaller than unity. Depending on $Re_{o}$ (or equivalently on the angular velocity ratio $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}_{o}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}_{i}$), three different regimes have been identified above instability onset: a weakly non-axisymmetric mode with low azimuthal wavenumber $m=O(1)$ is observed for $Re_{o}<0$ ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}<0$), a highly non-axisymmetric mode with $m\sim 12$ occurs for $Re_{o}>840$ ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}>0.57$) while both modes are present simultaneously in the lower and upper parts of the flow for $0\leqslant Re_{o}\leqslant 840$ ($0\leqslant \unicode[STIX]{x1D707}\leqslant 0.57$). The destabilization of these primary modes and the transition to turbulence as $Re_{i}$ increases have been also studied. The linear stability analysis proves that the weakly non-axisymmetric mode is due to the centrifugal instability while the highly non-axisymmetric mode comes from the strato-rotational instability. These two instabilities can be clearly distinguished because of their distinct dominant azimuthal wavenumber and frequency, in agreement with the recent results of Park et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 822, 2017, pp. 80–108). The stability threshold and the characteristics of the primary modes observed in the experiments are in very good agreement with the numerical predictions. Moreover, we show that the centrifugal and strato-rotational instabilities are observed simultaneously for $0\leqslant Re_{o}\leqslant 840$ in the lower and upper parts of the flow, respectively, because of the variations of the local Reynolds numbers along the vertical due to the salinity gradient.